FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway Company has announced three key leadership changes in its Transportation, Service Design and Marketing teams, effective September 1, 2024.
Matt Garland has been promoted to senior vice president of transportation and Service Design, Katie Hower has been named vice president of service Design and Network Strategy and Farah Lawler has been named vice president of domestic Intermodal Marketing.
Garland, who most recently served as vice president of transportation, will assume oversight for all BNSF Transportation operations, Service Design and Network Strategies. In this new senior leadership role, he will be responsible for ensuring the safe, efficient and reliable movement of freight across BNSF’s 32,500-mile network and developing and implementing service plans that meet the current and future needs of BNSF’s customers and markets.
Garland joined BNSF as a management trainee in 2001. He was soon promoted to trainmaster and would later serve in various Transportation leadership roles with increasing responsibility. In 2015, he was promoted to general manager for the Kansas Division. Matt moved back to Fort Worth in 2018 to serve as general superintendent for BNSF’s Network Operations Center and would later be named vice president of South Region prior to being promoted to his most recent role.
Katie Hower has been named vice president of service Design and Network Strategy, responsible for BNSF’s business unit operations in addition to the company’s capital planning, operations research and intermodal innovation. Katie most recently served as vice president of Domestic Intermodal Marketing.
Hower joined BNSF in 2006 as a Marketing management trainee. During her career with BNSF, she has held several marketing and sales roles in Consumer Products, Industrial Products and Agriculture Products.
She also worked in Transportation, where she was responsible for Intermodal and Automotive Facilities and Network Operations. In 2020, she was promoted to assistant vice president of petroleum and industrial products. Before her most recent role, Katie was vice president of Industrial Products, responsible for Energy and Coal.
Farah Lawler has been named vice president of domestic intermodal marketing, with responsibility for marketing, sales, pricing and strategic initiatives supporting BNSF’s domestic intermodal business. Farah most recently served as vice president of Industrial Products.
Lawler joined BNSF in 2006 as a Marketing management trainee. Throughout her railroading career, she has held several marketing and sales roles in Consumer Products, Industrial Products and Agriculture Products. In 2020, she was promoted to assistant vice president of petroleum and industrial products.
Lawler would later be named assistant vice president of Industrial Products and would later be promoted to her most recent position to lead the Industrial Products Energy and Coal team.
BNSF’s Crude Oil and Coal teams will join the new Agriculture and Energy Products Business Unit as part of this transition.
